Warp knitted fabric

ABSTRACT

A textile fabric which consists of a warp knitted fabric having additional warp threads woven therein with the underlaps of the warp knitted fabric acting as the weft for said additional warp threads.

[ WARP KNITTED FABRIC FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 34,299 3/1925 Denmark..................................139/1 166,183 12/1905 Germany 57,282 1 1913 Austria.................,...................66/62 [76] Inventors: Jean Etienne Marie Richard, Saint- Etienne (Loire); Louis Antoine Etienne Jean Richard, Saint-Genest- Lerpt (Loire), both of France July 13, 1970 Filed OTHER PUBLICATIONS Wheatley, B. Co-WE-Nit Part 1, The basic Principles of Raschel Knitting, Knitted Outerwear Times,

[21] App]. No.: 54,125

Foreign Application Priority D Vol. 37, No. 26, June 17, 1968, pags. 47, 53 & 54

July 11,1969 France................. .........6922898 Prima'y Examiner*-lames Kee Chi Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [57] ABSTRACT A textile fabric which consists of a warp knitted fabric [52] [1.5. Cl.........................66/l92, 66/195, 139/1 R .D04b 23/00 .66/192, 190, 195,

[51] Int.

[58] Field of 66/19; 139/1 R havmg additional warp threads woven therein with the 56] References Cited underlaps of the warp knitted fabric acting as the weft for said additional warp threads.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2 I102 6M mm mmmem mm n mbm e a Pm e606 PLKK 8 06 2376 9999 1111 476 7354 665 2905 9925 1133 WARP KNITTED FABRIC This invention relates to textile fabric.

Amongst the many interlacings of threads for the production of a fabric, the following are known: braided and laced fabrics and variations thereof, woven fabrics employing a warp and weft and their variants, a large number of different knitted fabrics and crochet works, and numerous kinds of quilted laminated fabrics. The most widely prevalent are fabrics manufactured by weaving using a warp and weft and those made by knitting, of which one of the most current types is a warp knitted fabric of which the so-called Rachel" knit is one example.

Woven fabric provides, amongst other things, a better dimensional stability in inelastic as well as in elastic fabrics. Warp knitting provides a more aerated fabric and a higher production.

One of the drawbacks to increased production of warp and weft fabrics is the insertion of the weft. Numerous techniques have been proposed and some of these have been carried into effect in order to improve production and productivity. Thus automatic shuttle and pirn changing devices (with or without built-in pirn winders), weft carriers, fluid jet injection have been utilized previously. In all these systems, however, it is still the insertion of the weft which requires a great deal of time because of the breadth of the weft passage.

The present invention provides a textile fabric comprising in combination first warp threads and second warp threads, said second warp threads being warp knitted together to form wales and the underlaps of the second warp threads between said wales forming the weft with which said first warp threads are woven. Thus, the movements and breadth of passage of each thrown weft are considerably reduced and new possibilities in weaving are created.

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the attached drawing in which:

FIG. 1 graphically represents the intersection of the threads of a traditional warp and weft fabric with plain weave,

FIG. 2 graphically represents the thread intertwining in of a conventional warp knitted fabric in which each two wales are knitted together,

FIG. 3 graphically represents one of the many combinations of the application of the present invention,

FIG. 4 graphically represents apparatus for carrying out the present invention.

The present invention is characterized by the combination (FIG. 3) of:

Warp threads a running in the longitudinal direction of the cloth in the manner of the warp threads on wellknown weaving looms and intertwined in accordance with one of the possible weaves, including leno weave," either intermittently or constantly, whatever their number, thickness, material or color, regularly or not regularly spaced from one another. By way of an example, FIG. 3 comprises a strip with three threads and a strip with four threads. The weave used in this embodiment is a plain weave in which each warp is alternatively overcrossed and undercrossed by two of the knitting thread sections that interconnect two wales but it could be different as well, knitting warp threads b, in one or several layers, as known in relation to warp knitted fabrics, in which each thread is formed in loops on two wales interconnected by so-called bridging sections, whatever their type of binding and the length of the overcrossing" and undercrossing bridging sections, coming from one or several warping beams or even from individual bobbins, spaced and interlaced uniformly or not, with open or closed loops, whatever the material they are made from, their count, colors or physical and chemical properties. These warp threads b have the particular feature, when formed in loops on two wales, of binding simultaneously said wales in a fabric-like manner, by means of the bridging sections that may interconnect adjacent or not adjacent wales, or wales, differently spaced, depending on. the binding design. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the bridging sections interconnect two adjacent wales, but in FIG. 3 they interconnect two wales separated by another wale and it is quite possible to have in the same fabric bridging sections as in FIG. 2 and/or quite different ones. realization is that the wales be connected to each other. One may further imagine Without exceeding the scope of the present invention, any other connection effected on warp or Rachel looms, for example two layers of warp b, one making the stitch on a single line (chain stitch) and the other ensuring the connection either by producing a stitch or by being simply held to the heads of the stitches. The present invention also includes the complementary use of a core thread, that is not formed in loops, does not form bridging sections but is fastened to the top of the loops in the manner of an elastic yarn in the elastic knitted net fabric. However and whatever the manner, in accordance with the present invention, the combination of connections used for these threads b must'comprise a certain number of underlaps which are destined to serve as weft for the threads a.

The fabric as described above may include other additional elements such as warp and weft of plush or velour, the second fabric being super-imposed with the pile adapted to obtain velours, carpet fabrics or moquettes or simply in a tubular manner whatever the length, with plain or intermediate connections which create continuous or intermittent channels or piping, with the incorporation of fibers, down, which may be expanded, glued, quilted or hooked, in layers or otherwise, or the fabric may also be completed by means of other additions.

Alternatively, the warp threads a may be used in lieu of the knitting threads b and vice versa, whereby the knitting threads b will function as warp threads. This alternative embodiment may give to the final fabric some particular appearance or property, but it is necessary to make a judicious use of the combination possibilities so that, in any case, the bridging section of those-threads used as knitting threads can serve as a weft thread to be inserted in the shed left open by the thread used as warp threads.

By means of an appropriate combination of different threads, of their numbers, sizes, reinforcement, the density of the lines of stitches, their tightness and the density of stitches and warp knitted threads, fabrics may be obtained which range from the conventional woven fabrics to the conventional knitted fabric, with all the possible intermediate types as novel fabrics.

In particular, the problems of dimensional stability and of resistance which in the case of warp and/or Rachel fabrics impede the production of fabrics still reserved for classical weaving processes, will thus be solved. The deletion of weft casting allows greater speed. The deletion of the shuttle increases the yield and the facility of control. This, in consequence, will enable a considerable saving in manpower and material equipment to be made.

It must be emphasized that the deletion of the suppression of the weft inserting device (shuttle, barrel, weft, inserter or carrier) enables the process of the present invention to manufacture fabrics over the whole width of the loom or in series of bands (or ribbons) to be woven side by side with a minimum of space lost in between the various pieces on either warp and/or Rachel looms.

The production of a fabric in accordance with the present invention may also encompass any additions deemed as required for the purpose of obtaining a desired result, but requires necessarily the combination, according to a defined weave, of:

a warp, the threads of which can be moved by a harness to form a shed, as in conventional weaving,

one or several layers of b threads, of which at least one is formed in loops and at least one provides the bridging sections that interconnect the wales and are to be inserted in the shed formed by the warp threads. The same layer may be formed in loops and provides the bridging sections.

As mentioned above, thanks to a suitable mechanism, it is quite possible to have the warp threads or a part thereof acting temporarily as knitting threads b or to have the knitting threads b or a part thereof acting temporarily as warp threads, or to have the threads 0 and b interchanging their functions, but for each repeat in the weave, the basic combination defined above has to be made with a minimum number of bridging sections, in order to get a woven like fabric, the missing bridging sections corresponding to perforations as in warn or Rachel fabrics. represents a variant to which notice should be drawn. For this reason, described embodiment of a process for making a fabric only represents vthe manufacture of a simple basic fabric, such as is shown in FIG. 3. This embodiment is, therefore, simplified and non-limitative and it is represented in FIG. 4.

Warp a coming from a beam 1 and positioned by a thread guide roller 3 passes into the shafts 8 and 9 of a traditional harness, ensuring the formation of the shed and then goes into a reed 1 1 which distributes it, for example, in the pattern of one empty dent, and one dent having three or four threads.

Warp b coming from a beam 2 passes over a fixed roll 4, then over a balancer 6 pivotable about the axis which tensions the warp by means of a spring 7. The warp b is then threaded into the rails of a plate 10 and finally passes into the empty dents of reed 11 with one thread per dent. Plate 10 has a special movement which will be explained later.

It has been supposed that the warp layers a and b and the resulting fabric 16 before being deflected by the guide roll are lying generally in a horizontal plane as in conventional weaving. In this case the shafts 8 and 9 have an up and down movement which is known.

The warp b guide plate 10 has an up and down movement which is calculated to ensure that the threads b are taken up on the needles 12.

The reed may have a to-and-fro movement such as that of the picks on weaving looms with a suitable amplitude, but it is also possible to give it a lateral movement in the manner of the guide bars in warp and/or Rachel looms.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4 there is shown a knitting mechanism constituted by a needle bed 13 bearing the needles 12 and, a knock-over plate 14. The caster and the needles (of whatever type) have a movement which is substantially parallel to that of the warp threads and which may be synchronized with the toand-fro movement of the reed. The gauge of the needle bed is selected according to the article required.

When threads a cross each other and the reed is positioned such that the shed is open, the needle points will be opposite the dents of the reed supporting the b threads which fact presupposes that the gauge of the reed (i.e., the number of dents per unit length) is a multiple of that of the needle bed.

When one stands in front of the loom, i.e., on the side where the fabric is being made, the needles and the reed are in front, the threads a are crossing, the threads b are below and opposite the needles, of whatever type they are, in this instance it being assumed that they are of the self-acting type, their heads being only a small distance away from the reed and this distance being a function of the general setting of the article and of the length of the stitch in particular.

Needle bed and reed move towards the rear while the opening of the shed of threads a is taking place, the b threads being at the level of the lower layer and the needle field penetrating lightly into the shed above the lower layer of threads. The earlier stitch opens up the needle latches. The b threads are thus subjected to a lateral movement towards the right (or left) inducedby the reed, in order to face the next needle on the right (or left). The plate 10 of the b threads then lifts up to engage the b threads on the right (or left) of the located needles and passes thereabove whilst a lateral return of the b threads, induced by the reed towards the left (or right) takes place at the same time as the plate 10 is again lowered as soon as the b threads have been engaged with the needles. The b threads will then return to their initial position opposite the starting needles and at the level of the lower thread layer. The combined movement of the reed and of plate 10 has put the b thread into the opening of the adjacent needle which continues to move backwards and lets the earlier stitch slide on its shaft and under the latch. This is then followed by the return to the front of the needle bed and the reed, inserting the stitch underlap as a weft whereas the earlier stitch will close the latch and the crossing of the 0 threads starts in order to prepare a new shed. The creation of the new shed will ensure the release of the earlier stitch, the regularity of the threading and a better locking. Then a new cycle will be carried out and in order to produce the fabric illustrated in FIG. 3, will comprise a reed movement in the opposite direction.

The tenns of this manufacturing process are not rigid. Even so, the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4 are only examples to make the idea better understood. When designed for the industry, devices for carrying out the process according to the invention may or even must include any technical principle or feature applicable to the construction of textile machines.

For example, thus:

the stitcher assembly could also be provided with a lateral movement,

the balancer system could be either modified or totally deleted,

the harnessing system, designed as a weaving scheme could be replaced by any other system which allows the required movement to be carried out, the arrangement of warp layers may be different:

For example, it would be quite possible to have the knitting threads b coming from the front of the loom without passing them through the plate or the reed 11, by guiding them in a guide bar of the type used in warp looms or double rib rashel looms which would guide the m into the shed, through the upper or lower sheet of warp threads a, and then, by a lateral movement similar to that caused by the loop wheel in warp looms or rashel looms, combined with a vertical movement, would form a loop on a selected needle while leaving a bridging section in the shed formed by the warp threads a in order to have them interwoven with the knitting threads.

There are several different embodiments for each part of the device.

As may be deduced, the present invention relates to a new type of fabric characterized by a combination of new thread interlacings and by a manufacturing process for this new product comprising multiple possibilities of realization which are suitable to produce improvements whilst still remaining within the framework of the basic process.

One may thus imagine the possible reduction of movements for the insertion, in accordance with the present invention, of the weft which secures the production of the fabric. These movements will always remain equally limited in cases where one'wishes to weave two superimposed parts, such as velours or carpets, or to make tubular articles, as it is quite possible to have the two needle beds working simultaneously, contrary to what occurs in double rib rashel looms, where the two needle beds can only work alternatively.

What is claimed is:

l. A textile fabric constituted partly of a knitting component and partly of a weaving component, comprising in combination; first and second warp threads, said second warp threads being knitted together to form wales, and sections of said second warp threads interconnecting said wales being interwoven with said first warp threads whereby the knitting component of said fabric is interlaced with the weaving component of said fabric.

2. A textile fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first warp threads and said knitted-together sections of the second warp threads are interwoven to form predetermined types of weaves. 

1. A textile fabric constituted partly of a knitting component and partly of a weaving component, comprising in combination; first and second warp threads, said second warp threads being knitted together to form wales, and sections of said second warp threads interconnecting said wales being interwoven with said first warp threads whereby the knitting component of said fabric is interlaced with the weaving component of said fabric.
 2. A textile fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first warp threads and said knitted-together sections of the second warp threads are interwoven to form predetermined types of weaves. 